Geography of the Peace River
The Peace River stretches about 1,200 kilometres from the confluence of the Finlay and the Parsnip Rivers at the man-made Williston Lake, in British Columbia to its confluence with the Slave River in the Athabasca-Peace Delta.
The Peace River begins with the waters that flow from Williston Lake, a man-made lake that formed behind the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, which was built in 1962, and the Peace Canyon Dams at Hudson’s Hope. It flows through the Peace River Canyon and drops 60.5 metres in eighteen miles. The river then flows past the fertile lands around Fort St. John and into Alberta.
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After the Peace River is joined by the Smoky River and passes the town of Peace River, it changes direction to a northward direction. It passes Notekiwin where steamboats and barges once unloaded supplies. The river flows by the former settlements of Métis and Mennonites at Caracajou. Further north, the Peace River is crossed by the La Crete ferry. The river turns northwest to Fort Vermillion that was established over 200 years ago. The Vermilion chutes of massive boulders breaks up the flow of the river 80 kilometers downstream from Fort Vermillion.
After passing the Fox Lake Indian Reserve, the Peace River travels through Wood Buffalo National Park to Peace Point where it received it name. Peace Point was the place where the Dunne-za (Beaver) and the Cree leaders met to end the long period of battles and smoke the peace pipe in the mid-18th century. The Peace River concludes its journey in the Athabasca-Peace Delta.
The Peace River region including the areas that it drains is rich in resources that include agriculture, oil, gas, timber, and mining.
There is an abundant supply of fresh water throughout the region with an average of 40 centimetres of precipitation a year. Drinking water has often been a problem as supplies of water have been in shallow sloughs, creating the need for settlers to haul water from springs near the river.
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Agriculture has been successful as the shorter growing season is compensated for with more hours of day light during the growing season. Winter conditions are not too different from central and southern Alberta, with a few exceptional days when the temperature can drop to -60°C. Another moderating factor is the warm Pacific winds that periodically arrive in winter.
The Peace River country explored in this website will be defined by Hudson’s Hope on the west; Lesser Slave Lake to the east, the south boundary would be at Valleyview and Grande Prairie, while High Level and Fort Vermilion would be at the north.